Archebius Dikaios Nikephoros (

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

: ;

epithet An epithet (, ), also byname, is a descriptive term (word or phrase) known for accompanying or occurring in place of a name and having entered common usage. It has various shades of meaning when applied to seemingly real or fictitious people, di ...

s mean respectively, "the Just", "the Victorious"; formerly read as "Archelius") was an

Indo-Greek The Indo-Greek Kingdom, or Graeco-Indian Kingdom, also known historically as the Yavana Kingdom (Yavanarajya), was a Hellenistic period, Hellenistic-era Ancient Greece, Greek kingdom covering various parts of Afghanistan and the northwestern r ...

king who ruled in the area of

Taxila Taxila or Takshashila (; sa, तक्षशिला; pi, ; , ; , ) is a city in Punjab, Pakistan. Located in the Taxila Tehsil of Rawalpindi District, it lies approximately northwest of the Islamabad–Rawalpindi metropolitan area and ...

Osmund Bopearachchi Osmund Bopearachchi (born 1949) is a Sri Lankan historian and numismatist who has specialized notably standardized the coinage of the Indo-Greek and Greco-Bactrian kingdoms. He is currently Emeritus Director of the CNRS at the École Normale Supé ...

dates him to c. 90–80 BCE, and R. C. Senior to about the same period. He was probably one of the last Indo-Greek kings before the

Saka The Saka ( Old Persian: ; Kharoṣṭhī: ; Ancient Egyptian: , ; , old , mod. , ), Shaka (Sanskrit ( Brāhmī): , , ; Sanskrit (Devanāgarī): , ), or Sacae (Ancient Greek: ; Latin: ) were a group of nomadic Iranian peoples who hist ...

king

Maues Maues (Greek: ; (epigraphic); Kharosthi: , , called , on the Taxila copper plate; also called , in the Mathura lion capital inscription,) was the first Indo-Scythian king, ruling from 98/85 to 60/57 BCE. He invaded India and establishe ...

conquered Taxila, and a contemporary of

Hermaeus Hermaeus Soter or Hermaios Soter ( grc, Ἑρμαῖος ὁ Σωτήρ; epithet means "the Saviour") was a Western Indo-Greek king of the Eucratid Dynasty, who ruled the territory of Paropamisade in the Hindu-Kush region, with his capital in Alex ...

in the west. He may have been a relative of

Heliokles II Heliocles II Dicaeus (Greek: ; epithet means "the just") is thought to have been one of the later Indo-Greek kings and a relative of the Bactrian king Heliocles I. Current scholarly consensus is that he ruled ca 95–80 BCE. Heliocles II seem ...

, who used a similar reverse and also the title Dikaios.

Coin types

Archebius issued silver with diademed or helmeted king, sometimes in spear-throwing pose. On the reverse is Zeus standing facing, holding a thunderbolt or on some issues an aegis. Archebius also struck a rare series of Attic tetradrachms, found in Bactria. He issued bronzes with an owl /

Nike Nike often refers to: * Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory * Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment Nike may also refer to: People * Nike (name), a surname and feminine given ...

Overstrikes

Archebius overstruck two coins of

Peukolaos Peucolaus Soter Dicaeus ( grc, Πευκόλαος Σωτήρ Δίκαιος, Peukolaos Sōtēr Dikaios; epithets mean respectively, "the Saviour", "the Just") was an Indo-Greek king who ruled in the area of Gandhara c. 90 BCE. His reign was proba ...

. File:Coin of Indo-Greek king Archebios.jpg, King thrusting javelin. File:Coin of Indo Greek ruler Archebios.jpg, Bust of Zeus, and caps of the

Dioscuri Castor; grc, Κάστωρ, Kástōr, beaver. and Pollux. (or Polydeukes). are twin half-brothers in Greek mythology, Greek and Roman mythology, known together as the Dioscuri.; grc, Διόσκουροι, Dióskouroi, sons of Zeus, links=no, f ...

with palms.

References

* ''The Shape of Ancient Thought. Comparative studies in Greek and Indian Philosophies'' by Thomas McEvilley (Allworth Press and the School of Visual Arts, 2002) * ''Buddhism in Central Asia'' by B. N. Puri (Motilal Banarsidass Pub, January 1, 2000) * ''The Greeks in Bactria and India'' by W. W. Tarn, Cambridge University Press.

External links

Coins of ArchebiusMore Coins of Archebios
{{DEFAULTSORT:Archebius Indo-Greek kings 1st-century BC rulers in Asia